The Good Old Days

mountain_seed · Jul 30, 2023

MeAgain said: ↑

More about Hitchhiking.

"Why did people hitchhike so much back in the good old days", you ask?
Good question.

Because they had no money.
Or no car.
Or no one they knew was going where they wanted to go.

Hitchhikers were everywhere, except on interstate highways or turnpikes as most states outlaw it on those roads.
So hikers would stand on the entry/exit ramps, many times with signs that said East, West, North, South, etc.
During the Vietnam War ramps had lots of guys in uniform trying to get somewhere on leave.

Girls were also frequently seen hitchhiking. My wife, before we were married, did it all the time, as she was too young to drive. She never had a problem.

Hitchhiking Techniques.

Don't bother looking on the internet. Not much of value there.
There are two main theories.
The Stationary Theory of and the Theory of Alternative Roads.

The Stationary Theory is simple. You stand in one spot and stick out your thumb until someone picks you up. It could be in a few minutes, or a few hours, or who knows how long?
The Theory of Alternative Roads is based on the premise that if you stand in one spot a certain number of cars will pass you by based on how much traffic is on the road you are standing beside. However if you walk in the direction you want to go either frontwards or back wards while you "thumb", you will eventually pass alternative side roads, parking lots, and drive ways that may feed additional cars onto the road in front of you; as you pass those alternative roads.
Thus increasing your chances of being picked up.

While I'm Thinking of It.

There is also the theory of Convergent Realities. I made that name up as I forget what it's really called, but you know what it is.
What happens is there you are standing along side the road and a car is approaching you from the north, and another from the south.
Which car will reach you first?
Trick question, they both arrive at the same time, in a direct line beside you. Not always, but enough to rule out chance
Same thing happens when you're driving down some country road. Car stopped on the berm, another traveling toward you?
Everyone meets at the same time.
Why is that?

Click to expand...

I could say: "we only notice those times and remember them, not the dozens of times a day it doesn't happen"...

but that's not totally accurate.. as I drive around, there are certain crossroads where it seems there's always another car that arrives about the same time.. yes, these are 'main traffic roads' into town or between towns 10-20 mi apart.. but that's only a few dozen to a hundred cars daily as my county is fifth largest in CA (sq mi)[about 6,300 sq mi] but only 39K-42K population.. and 90% of traffic uses Interstate 5 which bisects county or another two-lane State highway that takes one NE into Oregon..

so why do two of us meet? we wave and move on.. I'm not 'startled' to see someone at crossroads.. I'm EXPECTING THEM.. sometimes we even know each other; yet not by name..

newo · Aug 1, 2023

MeAgain · Aug 5, 2023

newo said: ↑

Click to expand...

Truth.

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